Currently, most rapid, on-scene or remote vehicle appraisal systems and processes require assistance from the vehicle owner or someone else using a camera and/or a smart device. Such systems can introduce some inherent safety and risk concerns due to the nature of most accident scenes being around moving traffic and emergency vehicles.
Moreover, when the vehicle is deemed non-drivable, it must be removed from the accident scene by means of a recovery vehicle or tow truck. It is not uncommon for the owner, the driver of the recover vehicle or the insurance company to not know whether the vehicle should be taken to a repair facility or to a salvage yard. Many times, the wrong decision is made since the vehicle appraisal remains outstanding at the time when a decision is needed as to where to disposition the vehicle. These delivery errors burden both the owner and the insurance company with significantly extra time and cost.
Moreover, reliance on human adjusters to inspect a damaged vehicle at a remote location can be a big expense for insurance companies, especially when travel to remote locations is necessary.
There is a need therefore, for a cost-effective, on-scene or remote vehicle inspection system which reduces the safety concerns identified above. Preferably, the system is capable of providing a recommendation for dispositioning the vehicle from the accident scene or remote location and for automatically providing rental car services to the vehicle driver or policy owner if appropriate based on information, such as for example, vehicle and coverage data.